Babe Ruth: Legends in Sports Read Online Free PDF

played to the press in both places, telling Boston reporters he hated to leave and telling those in New York he was thrilled
     to be a Yankee. That thrill was made even sweeter when the Yankees gave him a new contract worth $20,000 a year in 1921 and
     1922.
    The Yankees got Ruth at a time when baseball was going through some changes. In August of 1919, a player named Ray Chapman
     was struck in the head by a pitch and died in a hospital twelve hours later. After Chapman’s untimely death, Major League
     Baseball instigated some new rules about pitching. Spit-balls were made illegal, for one thing. For another, new baseballs
     had to be used whenever the one in play became discolored. New balls were harder, brighter, easier to see, and also easier
     to hit for home runs than worn-out balls. For home run hitters like Ruth, new balls were good news.
    The Yankees’ home park, the Polo Grounds, was also tailor-made for a pull hitter like Ruth. The right-field fence was much
     closer than the one in Fenway Park. Although Ruth would have undoubtedly hitplenty of home runs if he had stayed in Boston, he never would have set the records he set at the Polo Grounds.
    Baseball was also beginning to feel the effects of the recent “Black Sox” scandal. Rumors were swirling that in 1919 the Chicago
     White Sox had thrown the World Series. Although it would take nearly a year before the scope of the plot was fully known,
     baseball was in desperate need of a hero. Babe Ruth was ready-made for the role.
    It didn’t seem that way at first, however. Ruth got off to a rocky start with the Yankees. Although he hit well in the spring,
     his behavior raised many eyebrows. In the middle of one exhibition game, he went into the stands and tried to attack a fan
     who had been teasing him. He caused problems for management, too, when he insisted on playing center field. When manager Miller
     Huggins resisted, Ruth went over his head to make his case with the Yankee owners. They agreed, although eventually Ruth settled
     into right field.
    Then the season began and all eyes turned to the newest Yankee. Unfortunately, on opening day Ruth misplayed a fly ball that
     cost his team a win. In hissecond game he struck out three times! Then the Yankees played the Red Sox in Boston. Ruth did nothing and the Red Sox swept
     New York. So far, the Babe was a big bust.
    Things didn’t improve when the Yankees played their first home game. Ruth swung too hard at a pitch in batting practice and
     separated his ribs. After that, swinging a bat was painful for him and he struck out repeatedly. By May 1, the Yankees were
     only 4–7. Meanwhile, the Red Sox were in first place — without Ruth.
    Ruth’s ribs finally healed by the beginning of May, and he finally hit his first home run as a Yankee, a long blast at the
     Polo Grounds. That belt seemed to shake him loose. For the rest of the season he blasted home run after home run and in mid-season
     New York surged into first place. On July 15, Ruth broke his own home run record when he smacked his thirtieth round-tripper
     of the season. Every home run he hit for the remainder of the season set a new record.
    Baseball fans everywhere were thrilled, packing stadiums wherever the Yankees played. They maynot all have been Yankee fans, but they were all Ruth fans.
    There was something about Ruth that fans found irresistible. He did everything in a big way. Even his strikeouts were exciting,
     as the momentum of his swing nearly knocked him to the ground every time he missed. Ruth knew how to play to the crowd, and
     fans were thrilled when he tipped his cap and revealed his smiling, moon-shaped face after hitting a home run, or grimaced
     after missing a pitch, or bellowed a complaint to an umpire.
    Around that time, George Herman “Babe” Ruth got a new nickname. Many of the fans living around Yankee Stadium were Italian.
     They christened Ruth “Bambino,” which is Italian for “baby” or “babe.” New